Snow Day
by PapercutPerfect
Summary: [RLSB] Remus and Sirius are left alone at Hogwarts for the Christmas Holidays... imagine the possibilities... [SBRL slash]


_Howdy._

_This was just a daft little idea I came up with last Winter. Yes, it took me this long to get down the writing it..._

_I'm not sure if I'll be adding more chapters, or just leaving it as a One Shot. Meh. Wait and see, I guess._

_Enjoy_

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Winter had fallen upon Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the month of December bringing the promise of a white Christmas. It was a certainly a pledge well kept, as by the 10 day countdown to the 25th, both the castle and its grounds where covered in a thick blanket of dazzling white. Hogwarts castle itself had been transformed into a gigantic Ice Palace. The many turrets loomed like gigantic ice cream cones, windows stuck shut with glittering frost that appeared good enough to eat. Icicles hung as beards from the many stone gargoyles, sharp daggers of twinkling ice far more beautiful than they were deadly. A deep silence had settled over the scene, a silence as pure and clean as the very flakes that lay on the ground.

The Great Lake had frozen solid, a thick layer of snow obscuring the surface. Students had to be careful that they didn't simply carry on walking, thinking they were still on dry land, and tumble through some thin ice.

Tiny footprints cut here and there, so perfectly defined against the pristine white, they could have been inked, beautiful pen strokes on an unmarked canvas. One huge path of prints turned the snow into slush, these belonging to the groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. The Gamekeeper's hut had the appearance of a Gingerbread house, the ice making a wonderful glazing on the carved wooden frames. Smoke curled from the chimney, a pile of fresh firewood stacked in a cleared patch outside the door.

Most of the students had returned home for the holidays, only a handful staying behind. One of these remaining was currently hidden behind a tree, not far from Hagrid's hut. Sirius Black, one of the infamous gang of mischief-makers known as the Marauders, was having a bad time without James Potter there to cause trouble with him. James had left to spend Christmas with his family, as had Peter, leaving Sirius to plan the misbehaviour on his own. He had Remus of course, but Moony preferred to stay inside, instead of trudging through the freezing cold to torment the poor Gamekeeper.

A mop of ebony hair fell to his chin, rising and falling in the tugging breeze as if invisible fingers were snatching in the wavy locks. Blue-grey eyes peered from around the trunk, one hand holding himself steady on a low branch, the other clutching a rather large snowball. A brilliantly crimson scarf was pulled tight around his neck, the colour matching his pinkened cheeks and nose.

Hagrid himself, a huge giant of a man (literally), was busy clearing a path from his hut to the Forbidden Forest set just behind it. From this range, he would be incredibly easy to hit with said snowball. An evil smile snaked its way across Sirius' handsome features.

A sudden deafening roar of anger, followed by a rather un-manly shriek, abruptly ruined the silence that muffled the castle grounds. Sleepy birds once nestling in towering oak trees immediately took flight, scattering in all directions before swooping together in faultless unison, heading further over the Forbidden Forest and disappearing from sight.

Apparently, Rubeus Hagrid had been having a truly terrible day. Mending leaky rafters, chopping enough firewood to save a small rainforest, digging countless paths through the thick powder, only to have them buried under freshly falling flakes... It had been hard work. The Gamekeeper was looking forward to settling down in his cosy hut with a big mug of steaming tea and his new Boar Hound puppy to keep him company. But, no. One little twerp had to go and chuck a snowball at him. After everything Hagrid had done to keep this little toe-rag happy, that was how he was repaid?

Had it have been any other day, Hagrid wouldn't have reacted so badly. Maybe would have laughed and thrown a snowball back, told the brat to get back inside Hogwarts before he set the Boar Hound on him. But right now, all he was concerned with was getting his dustbin lid-sized hands on him.

Stumbling back in the ankle-deep snowdrifts, Sirius watched in complete horror as Hagrid tore towards him, shouting all sorts of obscenities that even Padfoot himself was shocked at. Heart racing, the boy turned and fled, his usual speed slowed by the dragging snow, new flakes swirling in his eyes. Of course, he was no match for the lengthy strides of a Half Giant and with yet another girly scream, a snowball the size of a baby seal slammed into his back, sending him sprawling forwards. Landing spread-eagled, the imprint of his body now cleanly outlined on the side of the hill, Sirius lifted his head from the ground, soaked tendrils of hair sticking to his cheeks as he turned to watch Hagrid storming back to his hut.

Letting out a crystallised sigh of relief, Sirius pushed himself unsteadily to his feet, brushing down his sodden robes. The icy breeze even more prominent now he was wet, Sirius shook himself off much like his Animagus form would have, shaking his arms, legs and head.

At least no one had been around to see him make such a fool of himself, especially not –

Moony.

Standing quietly on the padded ground only a few feet away from him, looking like a perfect angel with snowflakes in his tawny hair and clinging to his eyelashes, was Remus.

The silence once more pressed against the eardrums, broken only by the deep, distant crunching of Hagrid's retreating boots. An unmistakable blush prickled Sirius' cheeks. Being alone with Remus for the holidays certainly wasn't a bad thing, but Sirius had tried so hard to impress the werewolf over the last couple of weeks. He'd finished most of his homework, not leaving the piles of essays until the last day. He hadn't screwed with the clumps of mistletoe hung around the castle so that it followed unsuspecting teachers around. He hadn't enchanted the suits of armour to spit snowballs at first years. Hell, he'd been _good_. James would flip.

Why he'd been this good, Sirius wasn't quite sure. All he knew was that, whenever Remus smiled at him, his heart would soar. Any compliments that passed those lips were revelled in. A simple touch on the arm was fought after with fevered passion.

Pushing more dripping tangles from his eyes, Sirius gave his friend an obviously embarrassed smile. "I thought you were studying…?"

Remus smiled in return, the corners of his lips only lifting slightly. "I was. But I finished." A snowflake tumbled from long lashes as the boy blinked and Sirius couldn't help but stare as it slid down the curve of his pale cheek, almost teardrop-like, to vanish beneath his jaw line. Swallowing the lump that had appeared in his throat, the Animagus shifted, fully aware of his sodden robes and hair, his flushed skin. Remus just stood, gloved hands held in front of him, damp strands of hair blowing gently over those golden eyes of his, expression unreadable.

"How long were you standing there?" Sirius asked, almost guilty, like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Remus shrugged, the faint smile widening. "Long enough." His eyes flicked over Sirius' shoulder, back in the direction of Hagrid's hut. "I think he's coming back for seconds, Padfoot."

Sirius whizzed around so fast his head spun, ready to fight (or more likely, ready to run from) the murderous Half Giant. But his terrified gaze fell upon an empty field, devoid of Hagrid or even of huge boarhounds ready to tear him limb from limb. He was just about to turn and question his friend when something wet smacked the back of his neck, jerking his head forward as it exploded in a burst of ice water.

Moony had thrown a snowball at him! The sneaky little…!

Bolting around, swiping up a paw full of snow, Padfoot prepared himself for a full-on snow fight. But Remus was gone, not even footprints to give him away, thanks to the now thick-falling replacement. Snowball held aloft, he scanned the surrounding trees, searching for hide or hair of the beautiful werewolf. Hell, he was good at hiding. Remus had always been the best one at hide and seek. It had once taken Sirius, Peter and James three hours to find him once, and he hadn't even left Gryffindor Tower.

Inch by inch Sirius tiptoed forward, towards the safety of the nearest tree, gripping the bark with his free hand as he circled around the trunk. The silence was almost deafening, the suspense only worsening it. A bird took flight in the next tree to his right, and Sirius' head snapped in that direction – only to receive a face full of cold snowball. Shaking the slush from his eyes, he spotted Remus hugging the opposite tree, doubled over in ringing laughter. Sirius adored Remus' laugh, so rare to his ears. To him it could have been an angel laughing, even though James insisted it was more like a cackling hyena.

Storming from behind the tree, aiming to ambush the laughing youth, Sirius screamed a high-pitched Indian war cry, flinging his snowball with deadly precision. It hit Remus directly between the eyes, sending him flying backwards into a snowdrift. As Sirius made his way forward, half to help him up and half to rub it in his face, Remus suddenly leapt at him, catching Padfoot around the waist and sending them both crashing back to the ground. The ensuing tussle resulted in them both getting extremely soaked through (even more in Sirius' case), rolling on the hillside in a desperate attempt to pin the other down. Eventually, the black-haired boy won the battle, holding Remus' wrists above his head with a triumphant "ha!"

But a split second later, the smirk had wiped from his face.

He was on the floor, with Remus, straddling his waist no less, and holding his arms above his head. Their lips were mere inches apart.

Sirius froze, eyes as wide as the dinner plates they ate their meals on. Remus' hair was mussed from their play fight, cheeks now a rosy red, lips slightly parted as he struggled to catch his breath. He was gazing up at the boy on top of him with something Sirius had never seen before reflected in those golden eyes; a dark shadow of… what?

Lust?

Surely it couldn't be lust. Why would _Remus_ look at _him_ like that?

Remus' chest heaved beneath him, his heavy breaths clouding the air between them, mixing with Sirius' own. Their eyes locked, a silent agreement passing in their gaze.

Neither boy was aware who closed the gap first.

Their lips skimmed once, twice, just enough pressure to test the other out, to sense reactions, before both mouths pressed together in a slow, tentative kiss. One of them emitted a breathless kind of sigh, nearly a moan, as their kiss grew stronger, Sirius' hand lowering to Remus' face. His fingers splayed out against his cheek, sliding up into his hair, his opposite hand releasing Remus' wrist and moving to ghost along his thin waist. Remus arched into his touch, now free hands rising to link around Sirius' neck, crushing their lips even harder together.

Rubeus Hagrid, who had been making his way up the mountain to find the student he had attacked, Fang at his side, had stopped dead in his tracks. He'd been on his way to apologise, to explain to the kid how badly a day he'd been having and to see if he needed any medical attention, when he'd stumbled upon this little scene. At first, he thought some sort of fight was raging, one boy pinning down another. But the closer he got, the more he realised, the one thing they certainly weren't doing was fighting. They clung to each other almost desperately, tongues gliding together, teeth nipping at lips and jaw lines, eyes closed to the world. The brown-haired one let his head tip back against the snow as the other explored his neck, pausing to lick and bite at an obvious sensitive spot in the crook of shoulder and collarbone. Names were whispered, their lips meeting again, legs a tangle of soaked jeans.

A blush that could have challenged the fiery heat of the sun itself bloomed across the Gamekeeper's face. He recognised them, of course. After all the detentions he'd taken them on, all the mischief they caused, it'd be hard not to. Grabbing Fang by the collar, he wrenched the dog back towards his hut, increasing his speed until he was in a flat-out sprint.

Sirius didn't know how long it was before they parted, Remus' head lifting off the ground until he couldn't reach those lips anymore, and the sudden absence of warmth felt strange, unnatural. Remus' lashes fell to veil his eyes, mouth still slightly open.

"Well… that was… was…" Brain searching for the right words, Sirius sat up a little, allowing the other boy to lift himself upright. "Hell, if that's what snowball fights are like with you, it really needs to snow more often,"

Remus laughed, his face tinged pink. "Now I've finished my homework, I can be out here all the time," He leaned forward slightly, tongue flicking out to quickly swipe Sirius' bottom lip.

"All the incentive I need to get my own done!" Sirius reluctantly pulled himself to his feet, offering a hand to help his friend. Remus brushed down the back of his robes, shaking snow from his sandy hair. "Oh, and Remus?"

Turning at the voice, Remus reacted just in time to miss the snowball that flew past his head. Once again launching himself at the raven-haired boy, he knew the work would have to wait a while. They had all Christmas left, after all.

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_Thanks for reading, loves. Reviews would be loved!_


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